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Friday, December 29, 2006

Snow!!!

It snowed today!!!! I was so excited! I raced out the door and took a zillion pictures. Okay, maybe not a zillion, but when I take pictures, I take a lot (Just ask my mom). I wish I could post them here, but since I didn't take the pictures with our digital camera, so I have to wait until the pictures are developed and then take pictures of the pictures! : )

Thursday, December 28, 2006

High-speed, name for blog

For Christmas, we got high-speed internet!!! Yippee!!!!! It is so much easier to blog! :-)

Can anyone think of a different title name for my blog -- Megan's Blog isn't very exciting. I was thinking about taking something from Scripture, but I am not sure what. I was thinking about "Aiming for perfection" taken from II Corinthians 13:11.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Family, Part 2

Family... what would we do without them???

My aunt and her six-week-old grand-daughter.
My cousin and one of his darling kids.

Maybe she is saving some for later?!?

My brothers ecstatic over their present of a Game cube. My mom: laughing at their delight.
My mom holding my 'cousin' (once-removed).
My grandpa holding my 'cousin,'. (As you can tell, she was adored by one and all!! :)

Family

I hope everyone had a fun, safe, and blessed Christmas. I went a little crazy taking pictures (okay, very crazy :).


The four generations: My aunt, my grandpa, my cousin-once- removed, and my cousin.

My cousin, Jessica and me after the Christmas Eve candle-lighting service.


My cousin holding his daughter on Christmas morning.


Cousins!!! How cute, right?!


My grandpa's hand, along with my 'cousin.'


My cousin, Paul, playing a 'traditional' game of pool.



My grandpa holding another one of my many cousins, after the Christmas Eve service.

Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone! I will post some pictures later, when I get home (There are lots :) . guess that is all for now!! I'll post later, I hope everyone has a safe and merry Christmas (and happy holy-days)! By the way, pray for good weather tomorrow (the 26th), beacause all of our family is going to be travelling.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Go-cart ride and prayer request

Today, Scott (my younger brother) took me for a go-cart ride. It was so much fun! -- he surprised me by driving on the ice. I was a little reluctant, but it was SOoo much fun!!! Of course, we got a little cold, but I shouldn't complain -- we have been having very good weather lately. I can hardly believe it is December, or that I am in North Dakota -- it feels like spring!

Now for some not-so-great news, our calves really need prayer -- they are sick with pneumonia, etc., which is never good news!! :( Yesterday, my dad was getting some calves in the barn, and one of the calves decided to 'play' with him! Needless to say, he is a little sore today -- so pray for him, too.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Not much of anything

Sorry that I haven't posted anything in awhile, but it is so much harder to have an agenda when I am at home! Today, my mom and I made carmel corn -- it was so good! (Not that I had any :)

I found out my grades today -- and praise the Lord -- I passed everything (I was definitely worried about my economics).

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Jesus

Jesus, I want to praise Your name always;
I want to praise Your name all my living days.
When I am in Your presence, I feel like a newly-sprung flower.
When I am kneeling humbly, feel Your love and power.

I declare your glory and majesty.
I wish that I everyone in Your presence could be.
You are the Lord of Heaven, earth and beyond.
With You, I have formed an everlasting bond.

You, Jesus, are full of mercy and compassion.
You are with me when I feel like things are in a fast rotation.
When on my bed I pray,
I love you more and more each day.

I try more and more to read Your Word,
As in church and Sunday school I have heard.
After I am back from church,
With my Bible do I search.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Laughing it off!!

Today it got really slippery on the sidewalk. I forgot this and -- as a result -- I fell down, two times! At first, I didn't realize what happened and was wondering why everyone was suddenly so tall! Then, I realized that I had fallen down!!! However, I was able to laugh at myself and it actually helped to de-stress me a little bit! (I had an economics final today.) I never thought I would be happy about being un-graceful, but I guess it was all for the best!

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Unique

Your hands made me and formed me
Psalm 119:73

Does anybody have an abnormality? For instance, one of my friends has 'webbed' toes. Usually people have either connected earlobes or unconnected--but I have one of each! Isn't it wonderful that God makes us so unique?

Thursday, December 07, 2006

John 16:33


Be of good cheer for I have overcome the world!
John 16:33

It doesn’t get any simpler than that!

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Nativity Set


I got these nativity pieces from my secret person at church. I thought they were just so cute! Mary and Joseph are actually made out of small pots!! For clothes, Mary and Joseph have small pieces of cloth. For hair, Mary has a 'springy-thing' from a pen. And Jesus is actually just a head!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Thank-you, Jesus

Jesus, your beauty is beyond compare.
You, alone, are worthy of my praise.
No one can comprehend Your greatness.
You extend Your hand of mercy to me.

When I run from You,
You still love me.
When I sin against You,
You readily forgive me.

You give me comfort
When I most need it.
You will provide for me
For all eternity.

When I stop to think about Your glory,
I stand speechless in amazement.
You have been so merciful to me
And I often forget to thank you.

So, thank-you, Jesus,
For all You have done for me.

Help!

Does anybody know of any good, preferaby Christian, colleges in the midwest (ND, SD, MN) that have photography as a major or minor? I need help! I have prayed about this and I have searched and 'googled'! Hopefully something will turn up, eventually! :)

Sunday, December 03, 2006

The Nativity


I strongly recommend going to (or getting) "The Nativity." I wish more movies were like this!! It is an awesome movie! I think they made it as close to how it happened as possible. It shows the relationship between Mary and Joseph. I would say more, but I don't want to spoil it for you!

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Mistakes Lost!

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Ephesians 1:17

I thought this was so good. I found it in my devotions this morning, from the book, Everyday Blessings, by Max Lucado. "Jesus allows your mistakes to be lost in His perfection." What a wonderful thought! Wow! I am just so struck by this statement. I love this quote!

Monday, November 27, 2006

God's Word


Reading the Bible shouldn't just be a "habit." I know I sometimes find myself at night wondering, "Do I really have to read the Bible?" I should look forward to it. It should be a joy to read--something new and exciting. I should be able to re-read passages and discover new things each time. I need to concentrate more on what the Word is telling me and less on what the world is telling me.

Friday, November 17, 2006

He Will Be With You

Jesus is my best friend.
He picks me up when I am down.
He peacefully says, "Do not frown
For I am with thee."

Jesus is my constant companion.
He will be with me always.
Through good days and bad days,
He will be with me.

Jesus is my healer.
He heals me of sickness.
He heals me of sin.
He will be with me.

Jesus is the Savior.
Accept Him into your heart
And do not from Him dart.
He will be with you.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Just For Fun!

One day, one of my best friends and I were just playing around--dressing really weird, acting goofy, and taking pictures. As you can tell...


"Be joyful always."

I Thessalonians 5:16

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Jesus AND PETER walk on the water

Matthew 14:29-31

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.




This Sunday was Harvest Fest/Missions. The guest speaker (one of our former pastors who has been a missionary to Lithuania) talked about Peter. He mentioned that there are two people who have walked on water: Jesus and Peter. Peter is not generally noted for walking on the water, rather he is noted for not (completly) trusting Jesus. However, Peter did walk on the water for awhile. It was only after Peter noticed his surroundings (the crashing waves and how far away the boat was), that Peter began to sink. The Bible says in Matthew 14: 31 that "immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him." In the sermon, it was said that obviously Jesus was very close to Peter if he could just reach out his hand and grab him. In the same way, Jesus will immediately reach out his hand to us when we are in trouble.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Jesus is our escape!




Jesus is our escape! The definition of escape is to free yourself and get away from captivity or confinement. However, escape from sin is quite the opposite. We can not free ourselves from the captivity of sin by ourselves. We need to call on Jesus to escape from it, but once we do this we are free... forever! Isn't it comforting knowing that we have an escape route!?

Monday, November 06, 2006

Church


This may not be the picture that comes to mind when you see the word church. However, for a pastor and his wife it is. Today I was thinking about the persecuted Christians and what lengths they go to go to church. Like I said, this is a picture of a pastor and his wife. They are on their way to church at who knows what time in the morning or night, through mud. Now, we generally don't have to go through mud to get to church, and even if we do, it is generally in a vehicle. I know that I am very tempted to complain about "early" church, but then when I see this picture, I think, "Do you know what? I have it pretty easy!"

Friday, November 03, 2006

Romans 8:31

"...If God is for us, who can be aginst us?" Romans 8:31
"The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Psalm 118:6

Do you know what? Nothing with eternal meaning or value can be against us! The world may be against us, but it is not forever! However, God--who is forever--is with us! There is no reason to fear anything in the world.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Rejoice!


"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again; Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

If Paul has this attitude while in prison, I can certainly have this attitude everyday! We should always have joy in the Lord--not just in the good times, but in the bad times as well!

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Self-sacrifice

Esther 4:16 "...I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."

I was reading through the book of Esther lately and it suddenly hit me how much Esther put her life out on the line. It got me thinking. I need to have the same self-sacrificing attitude for the furthering of God's kingdom! I need to witness freely to God's people! Esther was up against death. If I witness to someone in this country and they reject me, the only thing that I suffer is knowing that they aren't going to Heaven. I can repeatedly tell them about Christ's love, unlike Esther who only had one chance!

Halloween

I just wanted to share with you some information about Halloween:

Taken from History.com:

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

Taken from klove.com:

As Christians, what do we do? Remember the name of the holiday is the only thing that has changed; Halloween still carries some of its pagan significance and there is no Christian significance to be found in Halloween. Jesus Christ is conspicuously absent! Wise parents are replacing Halloween with family night activities. Others are having “Hallelujah nights” or "Glory Gatherings" where all references to Halloween are removed and wholesome games are played, Christian songs are sung and Christian videos are shown. Others are using Halloween as a night to pass out Gospel literature.

Selected scriptures on this subject:

"Satan, the god of this evil world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe, so they are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News that is shining upon them..." 2 Cor. 4:4

"Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them." Ephesians 5:11

"Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good." Romans 12:21

"Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them. " Ephes. 5:11

"Keep away from every kind of evil." 1 Thes. 5:22